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The cemetery of the Mount Pleasant
Cumberland Presbyterian Church at Cross Anchor is not only one of the
largest cemeteries in East Tennessee, but it is also one of the oldest.
Sometime after 1772, a group of pioneers pitched camp on the knoll
overlooking the W. H. Pickering pond and began felling trees for a cabin.
Everything went well until a log creeled, killing one of the
workers. To prevent the Indians from molesting the body, a grave was dug
inside the cabin. Two troughs were fashioned from yellow poplar logs. One
served as the casket and the other as the lid with wooden pegs for
fastening. The cabin was then completed with the grave beneath the floor.
The log cabin is long since gone, but where it stood housing the first
grave, is the original part of the old Cross Anchor Cemetery. Time worn
tombstones give testament to the age of the cemetery. One of those
tombstones which, has withstood the sands of time, reads: "Betsy Kelsey,
1796".
The grounds adjacent to, and including the early plots was deeded to the
church Trustees and their successors of the Mount Pleasant C. P.
Church by Robert Maloney. Additional land was deeded to the Trustees by
Walter Casteel. Another thirty acres was purchased for expansion of the
cemetery. In 1955, the church grounds, including the cemetery, was
incorporated, allowing for the maintenance and upkeep of the buildings
and the cemetery.
The large tract of woods above the cemetery grounds was given to the
cemetery in 1994 by Connie and Edith Pickering Crumley in memory of
Edith's parents, Fannie and William Pickering. The woods provide a
beautiful backdrop for the cemetery. Additionally, the corporation
purchased a right-of-way at the end of the upper cemetery, which allowed
the driveway to extend around that section. The driveway in Section E thru
H was widened to accomodate two-way traffic. |